The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has announced plans to team with national nonprofit Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank to enhance its Adolescent and Young Adult, or AYA, cancer program.

These plans include expanding its research initiatives and developing a new space to serve this age group.

Teen Cancer America executive director Simon Davies said growth in this field is real, which is important because teens with cancer require unique care.

“Young people with cancer have unique needs that differ from both children and older adults,” said Davies. “They face unique medical and psychological challenges.”

Chief strategy officer for Raleigh-based First Citizens Bank Jeff Ward said part of this unique care includes simply realizing that they are teens and not adults.

“We all want teens who are battling cancer to feel like teens, despite hopefully facing the biggest challenge they’ll ever face,” said Ward.

Teen Cancer America, which was founded by Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend of the popular British rock band The Who, has partnered with First Citizens Bank with plans to open over 50 cancer centers in the next decade.

Director of UNC Lineberger Shelton Earp said that with the help of First Citizens and Teen Cancer America, Lineberger can continue to treat as wide of a range of patients as possible.

“We don’t have the ability to say, ‘we’re going to do only these diseases well’,” said Earp. “We have to take care of people at the best level we can, and I am so proud of how we do that.”

For more information on Teen Cancer America, clicj here.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Officials Discuss Surgical Towers and Campus Development
Plans for new surgical towers at UNC Hospitals were presented by university representatives to the Chapel Hill Town Council during a business meeting held earlier in the week. The presentation was made by Anna Wu, the associate vice chancellor for facilities services, who noted that the proposed location of the towers has been modified. “The […]
UNC's Lineberger Cancer Center Awarded $28 Million for New Clinical Trial
The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded $28 million by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The money will be used to develop a new clinical trial for breast cancer which has spread to other part of the body. The trial, “Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium Evolutionary Clinical Trial for Novel […]
Report: Russian Prospect Elizaveta Astakhova Commits to UNC Women's Basketball
According to a report from On3’s Talia Goodman, Elizaveta Astakhova, a six-foot-one wing who spent the 2024-25 basketball season playing professionally in Russia, committed to head coach Courtney Banghart and UNC Tuesday afternoon. NEWS: Russian 2025 prospect Elizaveta Astakhova has committed to North Carolina, her agents Tequan Dean and Alex Karavanen told @On3sports. The 6-1 […]
3 UNC Athletes Finish as National Runners-Up at NCAA Track & Field Championships
Three different Tar Heels – shot putter Tommy Kitchell and runners Makayla Paige and Ethan Strand – finished as the national runners-up in their respective events at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Oregon last week. Kitchell, competing in his last collegiate event, achieved a new personal best and a school record with […]
UNC Researcher: Overhaul of CDC Vaccine Advisory Group Adds to 'Incredibly Stressful' Health Environment
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. announced one week ago he would shake up one of the key volunteer groups that advises the Centers for Disease Control and federal government on how to use vaccines. All 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), who were approved by President Joe […]
UNC's Chloe Humphrey Wins Honda Sport Award for Lacrosse
UNC star freshman Chloe Humphrey has been named the 2025 winner of the Honda Sport Award for lacrosse. The Honda Sport Award honors the national players of the year in all collegiate women’s sports. Honda Humphrey 🤌 Chloe Humphrey is this year’s winner of the Honda Sport Award for Lacrosse! pic.twitter.com/VctEuZGEEB — UNC Women's Lacrosse […]
College Baseball Foundation Names UNC's Jake Knapp National Pitcher of the Year
UNC right-hander Jake Knapp has been named the National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation. 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 👏 Jake Knapp is the 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿. pic.twitter.com/uFaFnNZAWy — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) June 13, 2025 Knapp missed the entirety of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery during the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Run it Back
UNC will be playing in Rupp Arena this December. And for a college basketball purist, that’s about as good as it gets.
UNC Men's Basketball to Face Kentucky, Women to Face Texas in ACC-SEC Challenge
The UNC men’s basketball team will visit Kentucky the night of Tuesday, December 2 and the UNC women’s team will visit Texas the night of Thursday, December 4 as part of the 2025 ACC-SEC Challenge, ESPN announced Thursday. ESPN announces matchups & dates for the 3rd annual @theACC/@SEC Men's & Women's Basketball Challenges 🏀 Dec. […]
Report: UNC Women's Basketball to Compete in 4-Team Las Vegas Event
Head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels are reportedly heading out west early in the 2025-26 season. According to women’s college basketball insider Mitchell Northam of SB Nation, UNC will compete in a four-team, two-day event in Las Vegas this coming November. Joining Carolina in the event will be South Florida, Fairfield and UCLA. […]
›